> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ai-stats.phaseo.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Developers Introduction

> A practical overview of AI Stats Gateway and the fastest path from first call to production.

The **AI Stats Gateway** provides a unified API for accessing the world's leading AI models - all through a single, consistent interface.

Whether you're building a chatbot, analyzing content, generating media, or testing moderation workflows, the Gateway abstracts away individual provider quirks and gives you:

* **One endpoint** for multiple AI providers
* **Unified request and response formats**
* **Transparent usage tracking and pricing**
* **Lightweight SDKs** and modern developer experience

<Note>
  You can get started on `:free` models with zero deposited credits. Paid models require available wallet balance.
</Note>

***

## Why the Gateway exists

Working with multiple AI providers is powerful but messy - each has unique endpoints, model ids and types, and schemas.\
The Gateway removes that friction by providing a normalized API layer that automatically routes your request to the best available model or provider.

You focus on **building**, not integration maintenance.

***

## Core features

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Unified Endpoints" icon="terminal" href="../api-reference/introduction.mdx">
    Standardized chat, image, and moderation endpoints that work
    consistently across all providers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Smart Routing" icon="git-branch">
    Requests are dynamically routed to the optimal provider for speed, cost,
    or reliability.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Built-in Usage Tracking" icon="chart-column-increasing">
    Every request is logged with latency, token counts, and cost metrics for
    transparent reporting.
  </Card>

  <Card title="BYOK (Bring Your Own Key)" icon="key">
    Optionally connect your own provider API keys to manage billing and rate
    limits yourself while still benefiting from the Gateway's unified
    interface.
  </Card>
</Columns>

***

## Getting started

1. **[Sign up](https://ai-stats.phaseo.app/sign-up)** for an AI Stats account.
2. **[Generate an API key](https://ai-stats.phaseo.app/gateway/keys)** in your dashboard.
3. **Make your first request** to the `/v1/responses` endpoint.

<Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/v1/quickstart" horizontal>
  Jump into our quickstart to make your first successful API call in under a
  minute.
</Card>

***

## Next steps

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Authentication" icon="lock" href="./authentication.mdx">
    Learn how to authenticate securely using your personal or team API key.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Reference" icon="code" href="../api-reference/introduction.mdx">
    Browse the complete API documentation with endpoints, parameters, and
    response schemas.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Best Practices" icon="shield-check" href="./best-practices.mdx">
    Guidance on how to get the most out of the AI Stats Gateway.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Examples" icon="terminal" href="../guides/examples.mdx">
    Copy ready-to-run snippets for Next.js, Node.js streaming, Python, and
    curl.
  </Card>
</Columns>

***

Need more detail? Continue with [Integrating with the Gateway](./integrating-with-the-gateway.mdx) for an end-to-end walkthrough, then explore [Integrations](../guides/integrations/index.mdx) or [Rate limits](./rate-limits.mdx) as you scale.